platys+betta

well I have finally done it, I picked up some platys to put in the 10 gal with julian. since julian flared at the fish through the bag a couple times (not constantly tho) I put him in a cup then rearanged all the decorations. I am not sure how long I should wait before puting him in with the platys. I was thinking about two and a half hours?

 

The platys should really be quarantined for 2 weeks before being put in with Julian as this is the normal procedure for all new fish. This prevents possible contamination of a tank from new diseases brought in from the LFS tanks. They may not be obvious when they are brought home or when we see them in the store but they can wipe out a whole tank if you happen to bring home a sick fish. I hope you have a way to quarantine the platys.

Rose

 

the closest thing I have is a one gallon tank, the other 10gal is in storage.

 

well I am taking a risk and having the platys in his 10gal while he chills in the 1gal (heated by my desk lap)
the platys are total cowards, I was going to introduce him when they all stopped hiding but it wasn't until nearly 12 in the morning that they all stopped hiding behind my big plant. they seem to be slow swimmers and julian is the exact opposite.. The two females seem friendly and open but the one male just keeps hiding back behind his plant, he moves around alittle and will stray from the plant for a few moments but otherwise he is just sitting behind the big plant.

 

NM I placed julian with the platys after 12hours and he seemed pretty intent on killing them. I took the platys out, and I put the platys in my 40 gal,

 

That could very possibly be because the platys look very much like Female Bettas, in fact the pictures of Misty my one little female were mistaken for a platy when she was little. He would attack them and kill them just as he would if you put female bettas in with him on a permanent basis. It is no joke that a betta is hard to find tank mates for most of the time. I really envy the people who can keep their bettas in a community tank but for the most part they really do better with just a few cories or otos and a snail or some peaceful little schooling fish that are not fin nippers. I know others have said that neons will work but I have also seen posts saying they have nipped the fins of the bettas and caused finrot. So use your judgement in what you do for the little guy and go from there, but Julian does not seem to want to have too much company.

Rose

 

I am tempted to just have snails. I really wish you could keep male betta's together they are such lovely fish.....are there any breeders working on that?

 

NM

 

There is already a species of Betta callled the "Peaceful Betta" and the males can be kept together except when you want one of them to spawn and then they should be seperated during the preparation stage due to temperment. Unfortunately, the long flowing fins and most of the beautiful things people think of in the standard Betta splendens male are not present in the Betta imbellis. So far as I know there is not a whole lot of interest in making the male Betta splendens a group type fish. They are either considered a fairly inexpensive type of fish and therefore pretty much disposable or so expensive that most folks do not mind having a special environment for each fish. They seem to range at each end of the scale depending on where and what you are looking for.

https://www.ibc-smp.org/species/imbellis.html

The above is some of the information about the Betta imbellis that I could find. There is much more to be found if you Google the "Betta imbellis" and check out some of the other sites.

Rose

 

Bettas are such beautiful fish, especially the males, that it's a pity science finds the removal of the aggressive gene in that species cost-prohibitive..I don't think there's a single fresh-water fish keeper on this site who wouldn't love being able to house several male Bettas in the same tank..unless they were traumatised by Bettas at a young age..just my two-cents worth on the subject.

 

Richard - such a lovely sentiment. I do so wish things were different, but alas, life is not always fair and the poor little male betta kind of has the deck stacked against him from the first. It is a joy to know though that at least some of them find homes like they do with the lovely people like you.

Rose

 

very true. But Julian like many others, will be kept in a tiny 10gal aquarium all to himself

 

I'd go for snails. Even with my corys I have to watch Rusty whenever the lights are on or he gets all aggressive on them. Sometimes he chases them when they are on the other side of the tank; all they have to do is move into the upper reaches which he considers 'his' and he freaks out and charges at them. Rusty is also very fast for a betta and I'd shudder to imagine him with the regular bunch of community tank fish. So...I'd go for snails, in sum.

 

it's simply not fair,I guess I was spoiled with my other betta Autumn. He would never attack a thing unless it was aggressive first. I kept him will mollies, danios, and swordtails.

 

You can not keep Betta with others fish. Because Betta like to live alone, if some fish are same size in the tank with it, Betta will bite that fish very poor. Mollies, Danios, and Swordtails are very bad to others fish like goldfish..ect, but can not win Betta...

 

I will say that poe's suggestion is a very good one. I have watched my Betta's with the Mystery Snails and the look on their faces when they try to attack the first time and find that the shell is very hard and the snail is not the least bit intimidated is quite a sight. The only thing is you can only have ONE. any more and you are asking for a thousand. And there are kinds of snails that can produce offspring by themselves so that is why I recommend the Mystery Snail as it is either one sex or the other and not both in one package.

Rose

 

Thanks Rose.

Yeah, it looks like you lucked out with Autumn. Bettas unfortunately have a wide range of personalities but I'd say on average they are the hermits of the fish world, the grouchy old men who don't want other kids playing on their substrate.

 

Considering the amount of time they spend alone from the time of their birth, they never learn to "play nice" with other fish and find it very difficult to believe that other fish are ALLOWED to share their water. It is so nice to find one who will unconditionally accept tank mates and when you do please find yourself blessed. (and reward them richly with a fantastic home if you can) But I have found that the more crowded they are and the more tempermental they are, the less chance you have of the tank mates living or having an easy existence. But it works the other way too. If you get some species that are hostile to them, it is like they cannot deal with it unless it is another Betta. They know what to do with another Betta because it is bred into them to fight back, but fin nippers are another matter. They usually do not fight back and until it very far down the stage of possible bacterial infections, it is hard to see the damage, unless you catch the culprits in the action. Some fish that I never would have thought would do this have been reported by members of this forum as having nipped the fins of their little friends so they are not recommended by me as tank mates. You may do as you please and take the chance of finding fish who are the right personality and it is possible, who will be absolutely fine. I just believe that their are some fish that may not be the most beautiful fish in the world but they have never been known to be BAD tank mates and they will be okay so I do recommend them. Besides they are sweet fish and I do love watching the sweet little actions they make and the cute little things to entertain you. You can read about them here:

otocinclus

Rose